Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a successful track coach and coach your protégés to a successful season? Through job shadowing, personal experience, and research, I have found out just how much hard work goes into coaching.
             Of the more than twenty million Americans who are running today, most who start do so for the wrong reasons, with the wrong attitude, and tend to lose interest after a few weeks or months. Many quit. This is usually because they become concerned with superficial goals such as time and distance and never discover the more profound mental benefits that running offers. (Lilliefors 15)
             To be a successful coach, the first thing a coach has to do is become well acquainted with the athlete. The coach should get to know the athlete's life outside of track. If the coach does not know the person as an individual then he would not be able to coach them. According to a collegiate track athlete, "a track coach should not only improve your running, but he should improve your way of life" (Jones). I believe that statement is true. A coach needs to have that close personal connection with their athletes. Like a teacher would have a connection to a student. With out that teacher, student connection the athlete will not enjoy learning nor will the coach be able to teach the athlete. In fact, a coach is a teacher, and the athlete is a student. That should be true for all coaches, not just a track coach.
             The second thing a coach has to do is assess the athlete. Then they need to find out what type of runner the athlete is. That way they can design a workout program that will prove to be the most effective with that person. Every athlete is different, so that would require a workout to fit that type of person. A coach could be training two athletes in the same event, but they would be doing different things. When asked why don't they do the same workouts, he ...